That. Is. Pricey. Apple clearly hasn't had the memo about the top end of the smartphone market getting squeezed. Or perhaps it is counting on the shock of the new for the 5C to draw in new buyers, and the must-have idea of the fingerprint sensing on the 5S to get people to go to the top end.

It will really have to rely on the fingerprint sensing being a compelling feature (which, in fairness, it probably will be: securing your smartphone is essential, and this is a good solution to unlocking it). One odd thing - people who use their phones as a work device probably won't be able to benefit, because the mobile device management (MDM) systems have to work across all sorts of devices - so they generally just impose a passcode. Fingerprint sensors won't apply. (Though you'll still be able to use it to buy stuff.)

7.42pm BST

If you're wondering on the fingerprints: stored on device only

Since this is the topic of some discussion, here's Apple's comment on fingerprint storage in the 5S: "All fingerprint information is encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip on the iPhone 5s; it’s never stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud."

(Unsurprising that Apple would have thought of that after all the NSA rows over Prism etc over the summer.)

7.30pm BST

A bit more on those camera pixels...

To those with a passing knowledge of pixels and screen resolution, Phil Schiller's statement that "bigger pixels make better pictures" might have seemed a bit odd.

But he's absolutely right. When it comes to cameras, the larger the physical pixels on the image sensor the more light they can detect per pixel. HTC with its “Ultrapixels”, and now Apple, have moved to physically larger pixels without increasing the pixel counts of their latest smartphone cameras.

In essence, this has two effects on the images captured by a smartphone camera. The low-light performance of the camera is vastly improved because more light can make its way through the lens onto each pixel, in effect increasing its sensitivity. The result is a picture that is brighter, with better colour saturation and less grain compared to cameras with smaller pixels.

However, the downside is that in bright light, the lower pixel count necessitated by the increased individual pixel size can produce a potentially less detailed, less sharp and smaller image compared to standard camera sensors.

7.20pm BST

Analyst reaction: bigger, simpler

Ian Fogg of IHS: "Apple dramatically expands the addressable market for the iPhone with new operator deals in China and Japan, plus keener 5C pricing"

Francisco Jeronimo of IDC: "Apple brings biometrics to a new level, from a corporate environment to the consumers' hands.. A much better camera in the new iPhone was needed as competitors have improved significantly in the last year".

So to round up..

While Elvis plays us out with (What's So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding..

-Apple hasn't dumped all the old iPhones: the 4S lives on, while the 5 introduced last year is already for the chop. (Like the iPod mini being killed in favour of the iPod nano after 18 months.)

- it hasn't priced the 5C to chase the midrange prepay market outside the US. That will work fine inside the US, but it leaves the question open of whether the "new" will draw buyers in the way that it needs to so that it can keep developers from shifting to Android-first.

- no iWatch, no Mac Pro, no iPads, no Apple TV. The Mac Pro is one of the most-delayed products ever (pre-announced in June; still unseen).

Cook: we don't pack in feature after feature

Ad time - showing people using the "cheaper" 5C. There must have been lots of actors signed up to the most incredible non-disclosure agreements to do these. "For the colourful". (And the younger, vivacious, it looks like.)

No sign of the iWatch; no sign of the Mac Pro; no sign of... oh wait. "I'd like to return to music for a moment. Music is deeply embedded in our DNA. We do really love music.." Ah, it's not "one more thing", it's "one more artist".

7.08pm BST

And on fingerprinting...

"It's never stored on Apple servers or backed up to the iCloud. That's great news."

It's certainly interesting in the context of surveillance. Expect much more on this.

7.07pm BST

iOS 7.. what is there next..?

Schiller is back on, we've been hearing about the iPhone 5S "our most forward-thinking phone yet". Must be the reveal for the price... "16GB for $199.. 32GB for $299... 64GB for $399." Those are post-contract prices, for the US. This is a super-top-end phone.

And leather cases too. (Seriously? Cases?)

"So now you've seen our two new phone lines."

Oh, and the iPhone 4S is going to be kept on - "free" in the US.

Pre-orders start on 13 September, on sale 20 September in the US, UK and other others including China.

In Japan with NTT DoCoMo. No mention of China Mobile - which would be the difference between kaboom! and mmmmOKay.

7.01pm BST

iPhone 5S: security: fingerprint sensing

Schiller is setting up the security story. "A passcode.. some people find it too cumbersome. In our research about half of smartphone customers do not set up a passcode on their device, and they really, really should."

iPhone 5S battery life

iPhone 5S: "burst mode"

Can take 10 frames per second while you hold down. Oh - this is the same as we've seen with many other cameras. "If every time you did this you had to sort the photos... that would be boring." Instead it presents what it thinks will be the favourite from the camera roll. (Smart, but it brings it up to the others.)

And next feature: Slo-Mo. (Again - forecast in leaks.) "Capturing HD video at 720p at 120 frames per second.. all these are simply in service of taking a great picture."

(Apple gets that taking a picture should be about just capturing the moment, not figuring out which of a dozen settings you want to have.)

6.50pm BST

iPhone 5S: camera

"Most of us just want to take a picture," Schiller says - a dig at Samsung's tons of options which quickly overwhelm you.

f2.2, 15% larger sensor area. "Our competitors would stack more on there to get a number on the spec sheet." He says "bigger pixels = better picture." (Really?)

"The new software in iOS 7 has been designed to take advantage of the new image sensor." Automatically does auto white balance, exposure, dynamic local tone map (for highlights and shadows), autofocuson and picks sharpest one of multiple photos "unbeknownst to you".

And "True Tone Flash" - which allows for ambient light. "Whatever colour your flash is it's going to clash with the colours." And a dual-LED, as predicted.

(So far, the supply chain leaks have all been absolutely spot-on; only the price and the silicone cases for the iPhone 5C hadn't leaked.)

Phil Schiller talks about the camera in the new iPhone 5S. Photograph: Stephen Lam/Reuters

Updated at 7.33pm BST

6.46pm BST

iPhone 5S: M7 motion co-processor

It continuously measures motion data. And with new software and applications "you'll get a whole new level of fitness apps." Also: "optimisations based on contextual awareness. Identifies user movement."

This is Apple prodding into the health space (Tim Cook is reckoned to be a fitness enthusiast). Worked with Nike to produce a new app telling you what you've done and where and how far you've gone.

....games demo...

iPhone 5S: increased... everything?

Schiller is making much of increased graphics performance. "Increased 56x since the first iPhone, half of that coming today with the iPhone 5S."

If you wonder... what difference is having 64-bit going to make? Schiller's response is to get Epic Games up to show off something processor-intensive. Oh, Infinity Blade, which feels like a game that's basically designed to be shown off at iPhone launches - rather like tha bakeoffs that Schiller and Steve Jobs used to run, back when it was all Macs and Photoshop.

iPhone 5S: diamond-cut chamfered edges

Performance... used to mean graphics cards and fans. Now consumers want great performance that fits in the palm of their hands.

A7 chip - 64-bit - "the first-ever in a phone of any kind.. the PC world took years to go from 32 bit to 64 bit. We're going to do it in one day, with hardware, and all-new applications."

"A 64-bit desktop-class architecture. Over a billion transistors. 2 floating point registers. iOS 7 has been reengineered for 64-bit as well." (They kept that quiet.) "All built-in apps re-engineered. This is seamless for customers."

(On this basis, some people will be carrying 64-bit phones before some people have upgraded from 32-bit PCs running Windows XP.)

And now: iPhone 5S

"The most forward-thinking phone we've ever created, perhaps that anyone has ever made. Packed with incredible technologies in service of using these in the way we want to."

Video.... of magma? The slow reveal on this one. Dual flash on the back. Ah, yes, there's the "champagne" colour.

6.31pm BST

iPhone 5C: more specs

Supports more LTE bands "than any other smartphone in the world". Bluetooth 4.0.

(So the question now, is, what is the price going to be? If this is the low end, what is the high end?)

"A price of just $99." Translated from the American, that's about $550 outside the US on prepay.

Quick analysis: So Apple isn't chasing the low end of the market. Or, really, even the middle range. How, then, is this going to drive sales? It might work in the US, but won't - unless the "new" and the "colour" works together to get people to buy them.

In pricing terms, this will cost about what the iPhone 4S was costing last week. Except it's new. So Apple will appear to be at the lower end - but it's really not mixing it with the midrange Android phones.

That said, it'll probably sell by the gazillion. Remember, Cosmo magazine is here: cheaper, colourful and new phones will have big appeal.

6.27pm BST

iPhone 5C construction

"As close as you look you won't see seams or part lines. Vibrant icons, translucency, it creates an entire experience of colour. And it doesn't stop with the phone design." And cases too, made of silicon. With cutouts. Which you can combine "to create exactly the look that you want."

"It's made of a hard-coated polycarbonate" (isn't that plastic, mommy?) .

iPhone 5C

"Made with all the incredible technology that customers have loved with the iPhone 5.. more colourful than any iPhone we've made yet. A few of you may have seen some shots on the web.. and that's cool.. but you haven't really seen it yet."

'Let's talk about iPhone..'

Onwards to the iPhone. 'iPhone 5 took our business to an entirely new level.. in the past we've lowered the price of the old iPhone, making it accessible to a new group of people. This year we're not going to do that. The business has become so large that this year we're going to replace the iPhone 5 and replace it with not one but two new designs. This allows us to serve new customers."

Phil Schiller, head of marketing, comes on. Now we're into the meat of the presentation.

6.21pm BST

iWork, iPhoto, iMovie on iOS will be free

Keynote and Pages and Numbers (Apple's version of PowerPoint, Word, and Excel)... plus iPhone and iMovie: "a really key advance for customers' productivity.. no other platform has any apps like these."

"Today we're announcing that we're making all five of these industry-leading apps free." That's quite a move - Apple staking a claim to content creation. (It also showed a web-enabled iWork in June, so this is a key move.)

6.17pm BST

iOS 7: photos, AirDrop; iOS 7 on 18 September

The new photos display organises them by date (year/month/event) - which is a lot better than the old "wall of photos" format.

"AirDrop" - lets you send photos to other people really easily.

Music app - iTunes Radio, which will let you create new stations or work from a single track. Federighi is a Rush fan. Well, we all have our faults.

"Over 200 features.. and our developer community has been hugely inspired.. you'll see many more coming into the App Store."

Federighi says "it's like getting a whole new device." It will be available for free from 18 September. iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later.

Updated at 6.17pm BST

6.13pm BST

iOS 7 walkthrough: commuting, app updates, Safari, Siri, sounds

Federighi pointing out that there's a "commute help" - when you tell it where you live and where you work, it will warn you about commute times. (That's a stab at Google Now.)

Apps can be updated in the background.

Safari web browser comes on a sort of rolodex, multiple screens.

Siri is "massively improved". He shows "What's Lady Gaga saying?" and it searches on Twitter. (This didn't look like a live demo tbh. Or else it was super-ultra-fast.)

Ah, and new phone ring sounds. They've all been redone, it seems. "We've improved the system alert sounds as well." All more sci-fi like - to me, they sound a bit Android-y.

iOS 7

"We've been hard at work on iOS 7.. and next month we will ship the 700 millionth iOS device.. and since we make updates easily and available to as many customers as possible.. iOS 7 will quickly become the world's most popular operating system."

Tim Cook is up and looking relaxed

"Great to see everyone, thanks for joining us. Special welcome for those joining us in Beijing and Berlin and Tokyo."

Excited about things, but first - updates.

iTunes Festival. (Big music festival. In its 7th year.) Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake... all in London. Wow - 20 million people applied for tickets. "It's like an opening weekend for a product!" Laughs from the audience..

(Cook is looking more relaxed than he has in previous presentations. In the past he's come across a trifle stiff. So far he's seemed more at ease.)

6.03pm BST

What do you think the iPhones will be like?

You know what we're expecting the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C to be like, but what about you, our readers? What are you expecting the next chapter in Apple's iPhone to be like?

The iPhone 5C: no one really knows what it looks like but Apple reckons it will make you happy. Photograph: Apple

Maiers takes a slightly cynical approach, which we're not too far from agreeing with, at least in the sales numbers.

This comment has been chosen by Guardian staff because it contributes to the debate

The good:

Better battery life

The bad:

A new maps app (give it up, Google's better, just license that)

The ugly:

That gold covered case.

Stephenjpc's obviously not a fan of Sir Ive with his unique brand of minimalism and seeming obsession with colourful, flat design. Something tells us Sir Ive wouldn't need to work again if he really got the boot from Apple.

The patent wars are far from over, and you can almost guarantee the lawyers will be all over the next few competing phones, Jill O'Sullivan. It's certainly a good time to be a patent attorney, that's for sure.

5s - It will be exactly the same design as the current one, maybe slightly thinner yet there will still be a video from Johnny Ive claiming they have gone back to the drawing board and completely redesigned it from scratch!

5c - It won't be made of plastic, it will be made of a material exactly like plastic but with a cooler sounding name, that Apple have just invented!

And we're off....

The lights fade and "Out of My League" by Fitz and the Tantrums (thanks, Shazam) fades down. It's time to kill some rumours.

5.57pm BST

Jack Dorsey at Cupertino? And what are "beacons"?

Apparently Jack Dorsey is at the Cupertino end of the show. Hmm, is that for payments integration? Paypal showed off a fascinating ad on Monday called Beacon which seems to rely on Bluetooth for mobile payments. How does this all fit together, and is Apple's new AirDrop (which uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for a peer-to-peer item sharing system) part of it?

There's no expectation of NFC in the new iPhones - so if Apple has some sort of mobile payment solution that uses Bluetooth, things could get very interesting. Pretty much every phone has Bluetooth now.

5.49pm BST

And a reminder: if you ask people what they want..

Most popular item? Memory card (342/1000). And a full browser? only wanted by 69/1000. Rather trumped by "nothing in particular" (331/1000). If you went by consumer polling like that, you'd build something like Homer Simpson's car, for mobiles.

5.38pm BST

Where is the new Mac Pro?

The new Apple Mac Pro

Potentially with the iWatch in tow, and of course with the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C headlining, will Apple have some more details on the Mac Pro too?

Having shown off the divisive new Mac Pro “dustbin” design at WWDC in June, details of the new professional Mac have been scarce leaving OS X-using video producers in limbo with ageing hardware. Will Apple finally announce a release date and full details of its true processing power and keep professionals on-board?

5.37pm BST

In Berlin... and Cosmo is here!

That's Cosmopolitan magazine, which has sent its deputy features editor over to see what's happening. (They're beefing up their gadgets coverage, apparently.) And what would they think if the rumours are correct, and the next iPhones come in multiple colours? "That would be really popular," we're told. So perhaps Apple is going to take the same tack as it did with the iPod mini (which was available in multiple colours, and was a huge hit with women). Of course, colours will then look like a completely obvious thing to do. The challenge is always handling how many of each colour to produce. You don't want to be left with people demanding strawberry red when you've got a few thousand lime green out the back..

What the iPhone won't do...

Is it even ethical to buy a new iPhone from Apple?

A worker walks in front of an Apple retail shop under construction in Shanghai, China. Photograph: Eugene Hoshiko/AP

There’s no doubt millions of people will want Apple’s next iPhone, but should they be thinking more about how their mobile phone is produced, rather than how new and shiny it is?

Apple is promising that its first low-cost iPhone will "brighten everyone's day". But reports about conditions at the factories subcontracted to make Apple products jar with the upbeat image. Workers making the handset's cases are being asked to stand for 12-hour shifts, with just two 30-minute breaks, six days a week, investigators for the non-profit organisation China Labor Watch have found.

It’s not just Apple, however, as almost all major mobile phone manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, Nokia and HTC use similar factories, with poor working conditions for workers. Does a much smaller crowd-funded model provide a viable alternative?

A Dutch company called Fairphone has had some success in crowd-funding what it believes will be the first entirely ethical smartphone. After securing 14,537 pre-orders for its €325 phones, which customers have paid for upfront, Fairphone will go into production in time for Christmas.

Fairphone will carry out regular audits to ensure the legal limit of 60 hours per week per worker is respected. It has also set up a fund to top up pay so that employees receive not just a minimum wage, but a living wage.

Of course, that doesn’t take into account the environmental impact of producing a mobile device, but it’s a start.

4.47pm BST

Will Apple also unveil the highly anticipated iWatch today?

Apple iWatch: designers are already predicting what the new gadget will look like. Photograph: Yrving Torreabla for the Guardian

Today’s announcement promises two new iPhones, but perhaps the fabled iWatch might be Tim Cook’s “one more thing”?

Rumours and reports were rampant about three months ago, circling around Apple producing a smartwatch. Competitors certainly took note, as both Samsung and Qualcomm launched their own smartwatches in Berlin just last week at the IFA electronics trade show.

However, the rumours have since died down, and there have been no part leaks from Apple’s supposed production lines, unlike the the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.

Does that mean that Apple’s entry into the smartwatch arena isn’t ready for primetime yet? Or has Apple’s once-legendary secrecy managed to keep the iWatch largely under wraps?

Watch out for one on Tim Cook’s wrist later today.

Updated at 4.49pm BST

4.26pm BST

More on iOS 7: iOS Support Matrix

If you're wondering precisely which models of what iOS product will run iOS 7, can we introduce you to the iOS Support Matrix, which isn't from Apple but instead comes from the folks at Empirical Magic. (It's even available as an app.)

So now you can grind your teeth in frustration, or go "yay!", depending on how keen you are to have iOS 7. How keen are you to have iOS 7? Let us know.

iOS 7: Flat, colourful and a complete change

Older iPhones, including at least the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 should be able to download the new, colourful and flat iOS 7 soon after the event today.

Ive's iOS 7 brings enhancements to Siri and others.

Users who update to the latest Apple mobile operating system will benefit from enhancements to Siri, Apple's digital voice-activated personal assistant, as well as the camera app, and a new interface for its Safari web browser.

iOS 7 brings a flat design with surpsing depth.

Apple's new flat design brings with it a parallax visual effect, which subtly moves the background around as you tilt the phone. The effect makes the flat app icons appear to float above the background, producing a pseudo-3D effect.

iTunes Radio and Airplay.

iTunes Radio is set to debut on the iPhone with the iOS 7 update, as well as a feature called AirDrop, which lets users send files from their computers to their phones over a Wi-Fi network.

Updated at 4.27pm BST

4.25pm BST

What the news sites say...

• Reuters: The 5C is all about emerging markets. Charles Arthur also explained how the launch is being screened in China a few hours after California/Berlin (owing to the time difference) - a significant indication of what this launch represents for Apple.

• The Independent picks up those rumours of bigger screens, though we think those are prototypes being planned for a later model rather than the phones being released today.

•Daily Mail says the iPhone is heading for an iFlop (well done that sub!) because Samsung overtook as the most profitable mobile company, Apple is losing market share and the rumours are "boring".

•ABC says Walmart is pre-empting the launch with its smartphone trade-in scheme.

• Metro: nice pic of the gold iPhone 5S and a natty headline about known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. Thank you, Rumsfeld.

4.20pm BST

iOS 7?

iOS 7 is the software that will power the new phones - but also run on old ones, back to the iPhone 4 (sorry, 3GS owners) and iPad 2 (sorry, original iPad owners). Apple previewed it in June but hasn't announced a release date.

A question from Twitter on iOS 7 availability: today, or "are we going to have to wait"? If this is anything like the past two (or even three) years, then it will go "Gold Master" (ie publicly usable) today, probably with a few tweaks and fixes from the previous beta. But it won't actually be available for download and installation for a couple of weeks - typically, a day or two before the phones themselves go on sale.

Recall that two years ago the release of iOS 5 caused a huge traffic spike. Will iOS 7 do the same? Hard to say, but last year seemed to pass without the same problem.

Citizen Sane (@citizen_sane)

@charlesarthur Is iOS 7 expected to be available from today or are we going to have to wait?

Bad day to bury bad Blackberry news

Blackberry (remember them?) has laid off around 60 people from its sales team in Canada. Cantech got the story early on and our telecoms correspondent Juliette Garside has confirmed that these are US-facing roles and that no UK staff are affected. Blackberry's statement to us:

“We are moving a small number of US-focused sales roles that were based in Canada to the US to be more closely aligned with our customers. As previously stated, we are in the second phase of our transformation plan. As part of this transformation, BlackBerry will continually evaluate its organization – from top to bottom – to ensure we have the right people, with the right skills in the right locations to drive new opportunities in mobile computing.”

3.44pm BST

'New media is the most annoying'

Lee Clow, the ad man behind Apple's 'Think different' campaign, told the Guardian's John Plunkett the social media means that brands are interrupting consumers to try and get them to buy without a more meaningful message or relationship.

Hey, Apple! Loosen up

Dan Gillmor wrote today that he doesn't care what Apple launches because he left the ecosystem long ago, infuriated by the control-freakedness of the whole thing.

Needless to say, my scenario has almost no chance of becoming reality. Sad to say, control-freakery is a growing part of the overall tech and communications industry, as companies centralize power and become partners with government spies in the process. But out at the edges, where some customers still value their liberty, the discontent with this behavior is growing.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has, if nothing else, demonstrated an ability to be a pragmatist. Surprises are a common theme of Apple keynotes. I'd be thrilled beyond belief if Cook would spring this surprise Cook on the world, someday soon.

3.25pm BST

What’s Apple going to play today?

iTunes Radio is live in the current iOS 7 beta that’s with testers around the world at the moment, and reports have come in that Apple’s changed the featured stations to “Spin the Globe”, Trending on Twitter, iTunes Top 100: Pop and Pulse #Now.

Take from that what you will for what that means for the music for today’s event. At least it's an indication that Apple’s looking to polish iTunes Radio before its big debut when iOS 7 becomes publicly available.

What track do you think Apple's going to play at the beginning of its keynote in Cupertino, California today?

2.56pm BST

Is it time to do the iPhone swap?

The iPhone 5 is soon to be replaced as Apple's flagship phone. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

The iPhone 5 is going to start looking a lot more old and tired by this evening, which might be why EE’s just launched its mobile phone trade-in scheme.

Anyone at least six months into an Orange or T-mobile contract can upgrade to a 4G EE plan by simply returning their phone and paying a one-off fee starting at £49, depending on your choice of 4G plan. EE’s Pippa Dunn said:

With smartphone innovation moving at a relentless pace, we realise that some customers want to move to the latest handset at the earliest possible opportunity. That’s why we’ve introduced Swap to sit alongside our existing upgrade offers – providing a new, simple and easily affordable option for pay monthly customers to move to the latest 4G smartphones.

If you’re looking to upgrade to the iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C, should Apple pull another hit out of the bag, and you’re an EE customer not already on 4G, EE’s Swap service could prove the cheapest way to upgrade.

2.52pm BST

What you're saying, down there

In-between the recommendations for Android handsets (more on that soon!), below the line you've been asking each other what the 'i' in iPhone stands for.

KingEricNo7 asked if it was true that 'i' stood for 'interim', marking Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1996 (it was actually 1997). Nope, said Raptou - it stands for 'internet'.

The 's' of Samsung's S4 stands for 'superior to the iPhone', infinitedistraction tells us. Presumably the 'z' in BlackBerry's Z10 just stood for zzzzzzz.......

Also an excellent point from ivantal, soon to be much explored. (The point, not ivantal. Or maybe both?)

Given Apples location tracking issues not so long ago and the alleged relationship between tech companies and the NSA why would anyone want to store their finger prints on an i device?

Lastly londonscot, who said they'd be interested if there was a Nano-sized iPhone. I (Jemima, this is) couldn't agree more. There's certainly a use-case for a screen-less, audio input-only phone once Siri (and indeed Google's speech recognition) works on all (relevant) apps. And I'm not talking about speaking into your watch. Oh no...

Updated at 2.57pm BST

2.38pm BST

Isn't Apple a marketing company already?

Ramping up capabilities represents a necessary shift in direction for Apple, which under the late Steve Jobs "was fairly strict about the headcount in that group," said the executive, who asked not to be named. "The group didn't grow proportionally to the company as it went through astronomical growth, and that was partly because Steve wanted Apple to be seen as a products company, not a marketing company."

Given Apple’s extremely polished adverts and brand image (and what with Steve Jobs being arguably the world's greatest marketer ever and all) you could be forgiven for thinking Apple was already a marketing company...

2.30pm BST

Apple store down...

The Apple Store is currently offline, which normally means Apple's adding new products to its store and site, unless it's suddenly had to do some impromptu maintenance, that is.

The Apple Store is down. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs

Updated at 2.31pm BST

2.24pm BST

Police, and fingerprinting

Expect acres of analysis of this post-announcement, but what really are the implications for fingerprint security?

Brian Fung (@b_fung)

Apple’s fingerprint sensor raises some questions. If you use it, will the cops be able to force you to thumb-unlock your device?

iOS6 on 92% of iPhones

Apple’s iOS 7 brings radical changes in the appearance of the mobile operating system, and some iDevice owners have voiced their discontent at the design alterations.That being said, if Chitika Insights’ data is anything to go by, most of us will be running iOS 7 on our iPhones and iPads this time next year.

A type of image capture system specialised for quickly capturing and storing the imprint of your finger will be embedded below a swipe panel – in this case possibly below the home button on the iPhone 5S – which the user runs their finger over. The sensor captures the image and software analyses it for the skin indentation pattern on your fingertip, comparing it to a set of pre-stored data and verifying your identity.According to a recent patent filed by Apple in Europe, the sensor will implement an RF sensing system that will not only accurately capture the ridges of your finger, but also image the live skin below the surface of your fingertip to prevent spoofing of the system with a Mission Impossible-style fake fingerprint.

Meanwhile, a supposed piece of the quick-start guide has leaked for the iPhone 5S, and it looks like Apple will call its finger-scanning home button ring the 'Touch ID'.

Hopefully users will be able to finally do away with pesky pins and iTunes passwords.

The Apple-consuming world is eagerly anticipating a first tonight, with chief executive Tim Cook expected to reveal not just one but two new handsets.

iPhone 5S, we assume, will be faster, feature a better camera, a new gold-ish option and - the exciting bit - possibly new Minority Report-esque finger-print access. We think £530 ($830 equivalent, though the phone on contract would be less).

The iPhone 5C is a new departure entirely - Apple's first not-exactly-budget-but-a-bit-cheaper phone at £350-£450 ($550-$700), but in the tried and tested jelly-bean blue, red, yellow, green and white (if a jelly bean white is indeed possible) tough plastic casing.

That's what we expect - but what will Apple deliver?

The keynote kicks off in California, streamed to a sister event in Berlin, at 6pm BST (10am PST). We'll be here until then and beyond, sharing every rumour nugget, insightful news line and weighty analysis we can muster.

Get the popcorn in, and hang about with me, Jemima, here for the afternoon, with more from Samuel Gibbs (our new tech reporter, starting on a quiet week!) and then Charles Arthur - live from Berlin - later today.